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Ron Paul at the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa on Aug. 28, 2012.

WASHINGTON– Former Texas congressman and presidential hopeful Ron Paul has endorsed Rep. Ralph Hall in his Republican primary runoff against John Ratcliffe.

“Ralph Hall has served his constituents honorably in Congress and I consider him a friend. I am proud to endorse his reelection to Congress from the great state of Texas,” said Paul in a statement issued Tuesday by the Hall campaign.

Paul, an influential libertarian leader, is known for his opposition to increased government spending, advocacy for privacy rights, and distrust of the Federal Reserve and federal monetary policy.

“Dr. Paul and I have fought side by side for freedom and limited government, and I’m proud to receive his endorsement,” Hall said in a statement.

Paul, an obstetrician, spent about 23 years in the U.S. House between 1976 and 2013 in three stints, representing districts along the Gulf Coast and around Houston.

He has a complex history with the GOP. He left briefly in the 1980s and ran for president in 1988 as the Libertarian Party nominee. In 2008 and 2012, he competed for the Republican presidential nomination, building a strong following among libertarian-leaning Republicans, many of whom now are hoping to see his son, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, win the White House.

After dropping out, Ron Paul refused to speak at the Republican National Convention or endorse nominee Mitt Romney.

“It wouldn’t be my speech,” Paul told The New York Times. “That would undo everything I’ve done in the last 30 years. I don’t fully endorse him for president.”

Paul’s challenges to the GOP establishment have mirrored those of the tea party, and he’s been called the “godfather” of the movement, though his stance on social issues, including advocacy for the elimination of many drug laws, have made him unpopular with social conservatives.

Hall has previously gotten the nod for reelection from House tea party leader Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, conservative activist David Barton, and the National Rifle Association.

Ratcliffe touts his own conservative supporters, including tea party-related groups such as Club for Growth, The Madison Project, and the Senate Conservatives Fund.

“I know Jerry will fight for limited government and more personal liberties,” he said.

The Federal Reserve-bashing, libertarian-leaning Paul has had a long friendship with Patterson and especially close ties to his campaign manager, Chris Elam. Still, because Paul rarely endorses, his move caught some by surprise.

Incumbent Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, state Sen. Dan Patrick and Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples also are seeking the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor on March 4.

As a three-term land commissioner, Patterson “has served Texas well,” Paul said in a statement.

In a swipe at President Barack Obama, Paul said, “This current administration has even gone so far as to sue states they disagree with. We need people in state governments that are willing to stand up to the federal government and say, ‘Enough is Enough.’”

Patterson said he’d known Paul for three decades.

“We are both well-known for never compromising core values and for sticking to our principles in the pursuit of liberty,” Patterson said.

Patterson and Elam, his campaign manager, have strong “Paulista” connections.

Louis DeLuca/Staff photographer

Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, at a Texas Young Republican Federation debate in Dallas in November

“Jerry worked with Ron on in-district events in the early 80′s, and also served as auctioneer at some of his birthday bashes upon Ron’s return to Congress,” Elam said in an email.

His father, Mark Elam, worked as Paul’s congressional district field representative in the early 1980s. Paul gave up his House seat to run unsuccessfully for higher offices — U.S. Senate in 1984; and, as a Libertarian four years later, president.

When he returned to politics in 1996, Mark Elam was his campaign manager as he unseated U.S. Rep. Greg Laughlin, who’d switched from Democrat to Republican while in office. Mark Elam continued working on Paul’s campaigns through 2012, when the congressman announced he’d retire from Congress. Paul made a final stab at becoming president as a Republican, losing the nomination to Mitt Romney.

“It’s been fairly tight throughout the years,” Chris Elam said.

It all goes to show that in politics, old favors and family ties matter. But Patterson hasn’t made a clean sweep of the Paulistas. Son Rand Paul, a Kentucky senator, has not chosen sides in the Texas lieutenant governor race. And baseball immortal Nolan Ryan, who helped Paul beat the party establishment-backed Laughlin in 1996, has endorsed Staples and agreed to be his campaign chairman.

Retired Air Force fighter pilot Scott O’Grady on Wednesday is having a news conference to criticize former Rep. Ron Paul’s comments regarding the shooting death of former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle.

Kyle, the most decorated sniper in the history of the U.S. military, was scheduled to be buried today at Texas State Cemetery.

Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield were shot and killed Feb. 2. The man held in the killings, 25-year-old Eddie Ray Routh, is a veteran whom Kyle was trying to help.

O’Grady is upset with statements made by Paul via his Twitter account, including “Chris Kyle’s death seems to confirm that he who lives by the sword dies by the sword.” The Twitter post to Paul’s 406,300 followers has been retweeted 1,115 times.

Paul said in the same Feb. 4th tweet that treating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder at a firing range didn’t make sense.

The former presidential candidate later called Kyle’s death sad and tragic, but maintained his stand against war.

“Statements like this bring dishonor to the men and women who have worn the uniform of the armed services, from the American Revolution to today,” O’Grady said today in a news release. “As a veteran himself, Congressman Ron Paul should be ashamed by the remark he made on the death of Chief Kyle via Twitter.”

O’Grady was shot down over Bosnia and survived six days behind enemy lines.

Updated 1: 23 p.m. Jan. 24: Hensarling aide Sarah Rozier points out The Washington Time analysis does not take into account staffers shifting from personal offices to committee or leadership offices but who still work for the same Congress member. This was the case when some staff left Hensarling’s personal office to work for him in his capacity as House Republican Conference chairman in 2011. Excluding 2011, Hensarling’s average staff turnover rate from 2006 to 2010 is 28 percent.

The Washington Times, a conservative-oriented newspaper, noted that Jackson Lee was voted the “meanest member” of the House in a bipartisan — and anonymous — survey of Capitol Hill staffers by Washingtonian magazine in 2011. Her office did not immediately respond to a request for comment by The Dallas Morning News, and the Times did not report any effort to elicit a comment.

Former Rep. Ron Paul of Lake Jackson, a GOP presidential candidate last year, can take pride in having the lowest staff turnover rate in the Texas delegation, averaging just 13 percent.

The analysis, based on data from Legistorm, a service that tracks congressional staffers, shows that 10 Texas lawmakers have averaged at least 30 percent turnover per year.

Republican Senate candidate Rand Paul, bottom, reacts with his father Ron Paul as he arrives for his victory party in Bowling Green, Ky. (AP File photo/Ed Reinke)

The Ron Paul crowd should have no complaints in Tampa.

Romney campaign strategist Russ Schriefer, laying out details of next week’s convention agenda in Tampa this morning, announced that on Tuesday night the Texas congressman will get a tribute.

“We look forward to showing a short film about Ron Paul,” he told journalists on a conference call set up by the Republican National Committee. “That will be a tribute to Congressman Paul, where several of his colleagues will give testimony to his principles and his dedication to America.”

Paul, a Texas congressman who is retiring at the end of the year, controls hundreds of delegates and unlike other presidential contenders, he hasn’t yet released them or encouraged them to support Mitt Romney’s nomination. But the two camps have played nicely together. Schriefer spoke of a “mutual respect,” and said that when Paul’s people requested a tribute of some sort, “we said absolutely.”

Romney embraced Paul’s call to audit the Federal Reserve, an idea that also made its way into the GOP platform, along with a step toward Paul’s longstanding demand for a return to the gold standard; the platform endorses creation of a commission to study that.

Paul’s son, Kentucky freshman Sen. Rand Paul, gets a prime time speaking slot on Monday, as Schiefer also noted, brushing off concerns about discord in Tampa. “We feel that we’re in a good place. We know that not everybody’s going to agree with us all the time but we know that as a Republican Party that we’re going to unite and beat Barack Obama in November,” he said.

The delegate roll call is set for Monday, and convention planners expect Romney to hit a majority on Monday evening, five or 10 minutes into the early network newscasts, Schiefer said. Alas, the networks at this point don’t plan live coverage of the convention that night, though Schiefer said he’s hoping they’ll change their minds.

Each night has a theme. The overall effect, planners hope, is to give voters reasons to abandon Obama and to embrace Romney.

Monday’s theme: “We can do better.” Speakers will address Obama administration failures and ways Romney could do better, with “some real people who’ve been affected by the Obama economy.”

Tuesday’s theme: “We built it.” Republicans continue to hammer Obama for contending that successful businesses rely on government-supplied infrastructure, investment and education. Schriefer said this night will be devoted to framing the philosophical differences between a Republican nominee who believes in entrepreneurship and hard work, and a Democratic president who believes that government has a bigger role in job creation.

Wednesday’s theme: “We can change it” – a focus on some of the things Romney plans to do as president, particularly his middle class agenda.

Thursday’s theme: “We believe in America.” A heavy focus on Romney himself. As Schriefer put it, this is “our opportunity to tell Gov. Romney’s story in a very complete way.” At least 15 Olympians will appear, along with a Mormon leader who followed Romney in a church leadership role, and workers Romney helped.

The bill, debated on the House floor Tuesday, would allow the central bank to be subjected to audits from the Government Accountability Office, its nonpartisan investigative arm. It would expand congressional ability to monitor its interactions with foreign banks, among other things.

“I don’t know how anybody could be against transparency,” Paul, of Lake Jackson, said in the congressional debate. The congressman has worked tirelessly to limit the Reserve for decades, and his signature bill is passing the House just before his retirement.

Critics said the bill was less about clarity and more about politics, noting that opening up the system responsible for setting interest rates and managing the nation’s money supply to congressional audits could influence its decision-making.

“This [bill] is a way to shake their fist [about the Federal Reserve]… and it’s not a good way,” said Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass.

Still, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act received bipartisan support, with 238 Republicans and 88 Democrats voting for it. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, made a call Tuesday in support for the bill.

“Yes, it’s political. We have unemployment because of politics. We have people losing their homes because of politics… It’s time that we stood up for America’s 99 percent,” he said.

Just seven members of Congress didn’t vote on the bill.

Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Dallas, sent out a statement Wednesday shortly following the House vote.

“I don’t think Congress should be setting monetary policy, but I do believe Congress and the American people we represent deserve transparency, especially in light of the blurring of monetary and fiscal policy we’ve witnessed in recent years,” Hensarling said. “I applaud my colleague Representative Paul for his efforts to bring this issue to the forefront of the nation’s attention.”

It will now move to the Senate, where support for it is lagging and much less certain.

WASHINGTON – Rep. Ron Paul on Monday endorsed state Rep. Randy Weber in the GOP runoff for the Gulf Coast district he is vacating at the end of this term.

Paul kept his powder dry in the open primary, which featured 12 Republicans vying to face off against former Democratic Rep. Nick Lampson in the heavily conservative district covering Brazoria, Galveston and Jefferson counties.

Paul is immensely popular in his district, and the endorsement could be a huge boost for Weber, R-Pearland, who finished ahead of Pearland City Councilwoman Felicia Harris in the primary.

“It is very important to me that my friends and neighbors receive strong representation from their Congressman and I know that Randy shares a deep commitment to constituent service,” Paul said in a statement.

Harris has been endorsed by Republican Reps. Pete Olson of Sugar Land and Bill Flores of Bryant.

The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Pearland, where both Harris and Weber have their political roots, is outside of the district. Harris still lives in Pearland, while Weber recently moved from there to Alvin, which is in the district, after facing criticism from opponents in the primary.

Ron Paul, who spoke to cheering admirers at the Texas GOP convention in Fort Worth on Thursday, shown at April speech in Berkeley, Calif. in Berkeley

Republican provocateur Ron Paul delivered a stirring, if rambling, message to his admirers Thursday that ranged from lofty assessments of historic ideological tides to such mundane matters as government’s interfering with your right to drink big, sugary beverages — or raw milk, for that matter.

Paul, the Lake Jackson congressman who was the last GOP presidential hopeful to bow to Mitt Romney’s inevitability this year, spoke for 50 minutes at the state Republican convention in Fort Worth. When he began, the convention hall’s arena floor was just half-full. But as Paul spoke, listeners drifted in steadily, nearly filling the floor. There were hundreds more up in the stands.

“If you understand the freedom philosophy, you understand why there will be more peace, there will be more prosperity, there will be more tolerance,” Paul said. According to the official program, he led a breakout session about uniting Republicans and balancing the federal budget. However, he spoke more about foreign policy, unlimited war-making by recent American presidents and infringements on citizens’ rights under the war on terror than he did about party matters or federal spending. Occasionally, he would catch himself and ask what sort of unity is desirable. The freedom agenda, he said. “That is the message that brings us together.”

Paul quickly warned, though: “If you bring people together for the wrong ideas, what good is it? You have to bring people together for the right ideas. And if I’m reading the future correctly, especially among the next generation, believe me, they’re studying. They’re reading. They know the free-market economists. They understand the principles. They know this system isn’t working. They’re sick and tired of the wars. They want their personal liberties. And they’d like to have a job. So I’m optimistic.”

One of his many applause lines came when he knocked New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposal last week, as part of an anti-obesity campaign, to ban sales of large servings of soda and other sugary drinks in the Big Apple’s restaurants, delis and movie theaters.

“In a free society, you will always be able to buy a BIG drink with a lot of sugar in it,” Paul said to applause. “In a free society, you will always be able to buy and drink raw milk if you’d like to,” he added, to even stronger applause and cheers.

Public health officials and the Texas Medical Association are very concerned about sales of raw milk as a danger to consumers.

Finally, Texas is getting the attention of the GOP presidential field. If it were only March.

For the state convention in Fort Worth, it will seem like old home week as a host of presidential contenders are showing up. Even the presumed nominee will be in-state, although he won’t be doing convention thing; he’ll be raising money at private functions.

At the convention that begins Thursday and will end Saturday, Rick Perry will deliver a keynote address. Ron Paul will conduct a breakout session for delegates. And on Friday, Rick Santorum will be the big draw at a party fundraiser while Herman Cain will be entertaining Young Republicans.

Mitt Romney precedes the festivities, with fundraisers today in Dallas and tomorrow in Houston.